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.He had to finish the fight.There was no time to waste.Not when Damir was atrisk when everything was at risk.Yazuka leaped away as Balin slashed out.He fired another round of needles at Balin.The thinspikes blended into the night, becoming threads of moonlight that Balin barely caught glimpses of.Balin spun out of the way of the line of fire.He briefly caught sight of Damir, huddled against thewall.His eyes were wide with terror, the pupils dominating his irises.A brilliant aura emitted fromhim.Thunder crackled in the distance.The alley seemed to grow darker as clouds rolled in.Balin usedthe shift to his advantage, melting into the blackness.He walked among the shadows, part of the night.Yazuka jerkily swiveled around.Lightning ripped the sky, briefly illuminating the street.Balin lunged out.He drove his dagger into Yazuka s side.Yazuka drew in a sharp gasp.For a moment his eyes were wide, filled with wonder andconfusion, but then his visage smoothed into a triumphant grin.Yazuka leaned in close and whispered into Balin s ear,  Got you.Balin felt a sharp prick in his right side.He ripped the dagger out and stumbled back.Hisheartbeat became impossibly loud.It resonated between his ears, maddeningly vibrating in his brain.He looked around for Damir, but he couldn t see him.He was gone.Perhaps that was fair.A wretched soul like his deserved to die alone.But he would have wanted to see his angel one last time, before the darkness took him. PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP me! Damir shouted.He had abandoned the fight and ran into thebrothel.The girl behind the counter looked up at him in fright.Damir rushed over to her and pleaded, Outside, there s a man.He s going to kill him! Who? the girl asked.Had they not heard the scuffle? Perhaps fights were commonplace aroundthe brothel, but it didn t matter.This was more than a simple brawl between two drunk men.Damir didn t know who the man was that had confronted Balin, but he was more than a strangeroff the street.He had called Balin Shadowwalker.Why? Outside, please.We have to send for the guards, Damir begged. Sir, are you all right? Y-you re& glowing! The girl gasped.Damir shook his head with a low growl and pushed away from the desk.He would have to find aguard himself. What seems to be the problem? a familiar voice asked.Damir turned to see General Gaius, who stood in the doorway of a hall.His expression wasneutral, but there was a slight flush to his cheeks Damir didn t have to guess what he was doing atthe brothel.Thunder shook the building.The storm had swept in out of nowhere and took Canaan hostage.Damir glanced toward the door and then pleaded earnestly,  My lord, outside a fight, please.You must help. You re the farmer from earlier. General Gaius s eyes narrowed.He gestured toward the door ashe briskly cut across the room. Lead the way.Damir threw open the door to the brothel and ran outside.The scene in front of him stoppedDamir in his tracks; Balin convulsed on the ground, and crouched a few feet away, holding his side,was the man he had been fighting. Balin! Damir cried and ran to his lover s side.All his fear vanished as he knelt beside Balin sthrashing body. What happened? Damir glared up at the man, who watched with a satisfied grin. What did you do? Tell me!Damir stamped his panic down.He couldn t lose his head. Stay where you are, General Gaius ordered.Damir looked up for a moment to see that generalwas speaking to the other man, who had begun to rise to his feet.General Gaius had drawn the swordat his side and leveled it at the man. Tell him what you ve done.The man s grin twisted into a vicious snarl. What does it look like? He s been poisoned, and youwon t get him to a medicus in time to save him.You should be thanking me, General.Damir laid his hands over Balin s heart and, with all his strength, summoned the aether insidehim.Fervent blue light emitted from Damir s hands.He could feel the power pulse through his veins.He forgot about the others around him all that mattered was Balin.The energy flowed from Damir to Balin; aether flushed Balin s veins, dispelling the toxin thatran through him.When Damir couldn t feel traces of the poison anymore, he drew his hands away.The light went out, pitching them back into the darkness. Sweet Cythra, the injured man groaned, still clutching his side.He dropped to one knee. Can you heal him? General Gaius asked.He had moved over to where the man stood andgripped him by the shoulder.Damir hesitated.He looked down at Balin, who remained unconscious, and then to the other man,who had begun to pant heavily.He was losing blood quickly.Damir wanted to say no.He wanted topull Balin into his arms and leave them both behind.But Lar wouldn t want that.Damir caressed Balin s cheek, then rose to his feet.For a second he swayed, slightly woozy fromthe energy loss.He waited until his head stopped spinning, then crossed the street to the other man andreached for his wound without hesitation.The man slapped his hand away. Do you think I ll trust you? Do you wish to go to malltod so soon? I can let you, but I think we both know you would prefernot to, Damir said calmly.The man grimaced but moved his hands away [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]